The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy and political history and strives to apply the lessons of history to the nation’s most pressing contemporary governance challenges. more →

Welcome to the Miller Center

From presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Home to a collection of nearly 400,000 rare books, manuscripts, and fine and decorative art objects, including some of the best known literary and historical objects in the world, the Rosenbach serves everyone from schoolchildren and families to advanced researchers, and casual visitors from around the corner or around the globe.

Testimonial : Rochester, to President John Tyler, 13 November 1843

1 item (1 p.) ; 42 folded to 22 cm.
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 17:468.
Printed testimonial praising Tyler for his adherence to Jeffersonian principles and his veto of the bank bill, and expressing support for his renomination in 1844. Signed by Joseph Strong and nine other citizens of Rochester, including Samuel G. Andrews, later a member of Congress.

James Buchanan to John Pettit, 17 November 1856

1 item (1 p.) ; 21 cm.
Docket note on integral leaf.
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 18:37.
Writing shortly after his election to the presidency, Buchanan thanks Pettit for congratulations and regrets that he cannnot at the moment solicit an appointment on his behalf.
Fifteenth president of the United States, 1857-1861.http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/122633571

John Tyler to baron de Roenne, 27 May 1845

1 item (3 p.) ; 26 cm.
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 17:477.
A letter to Friedrich Ludwig v. Rönne, Prussian minister to the United States. Tyler writes of his respect for the minister, the minister's positive effect on German-American relations, and the prospects for confirmation of the treaty with the German states.
Tenth president of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

The Rosenbach's collection of Abraham Lincoln manuscripts consists of approximately seventy-five objects spanning from his legal years in Springfield to the week before his assassination. Among the political highlights of the collection are writings on the formation of the Republican Party, excerpts from the House Divided speech and a speech against slavery, writings on the use of black soldiers, and the handwritten copy of the Baltimore Address sold at the Philadelphia Sanitary Fair. Other content includes family history, legal documents, recommendations for appointments and paroles, military commissions, and correspondence with Grant, Johnson, Seward, and others.

Ulysses Grant to Andrew Johnson, 17 August 1867

1 item (8 pages) ; 25 cm
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 18:288.
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 62:22.
Protests the transfer of generals Sheridan and Hancock to different military governorships and the appointment of General Thomas as a new governor.
On 12 August 1867 President Andrew Johnson appointed Grant, then a full general, interim secretary of war in the place of Edwin M. Stanton, whom he had suspended when Stanton refused to turn in his resignation. Grant, a supporter of Stanton, accepted the post under protest and relinquished it in December, when the Senate refused to concur in Stanton's suspension.
The last two pages are present in two different drafts, one with the closing added in pencil in another hand.http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/122380579

George Washington (1732-1799)

The Rosenbach's collection of George Washington manuscripts consists of approximately one hundred objects ranging from his earliest extant letter – written when he was seventeen years old – to manuscript maps of his properties to one of his surveying books. The correspondence is in his hand and in the hands of several of his secretaries, as well as by those who sent letters to him. The content varies from personal to political, and offers glimpses into his family and friendships, his conduct of the war and the presidency, and even includes a rare view of him in a period of self-doubt.

Adolph Sutro to Ulysses S. Grant, 4 Nov. 1873

Sutro, Adolph, 1830-1898.

1 item (18 p.) ; 18 cm.
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 18:306.
Rosenbach, A.S.W. Collected cats. 30:368.
Reports on the progress of the tunnel construction, stresses its importance to the nation's economy, and asks Grant for a favorable mention of it in his next address to Congress.
Mining engineer. Soon after the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada, Sutro conceived the idea of a tunnel through Mount Davidson to improve miners' access to the lode. In 1866 his Sutro Tunnel Company received from Congress the right of way to public lands crossed by the tunnel. Construction lasted from 1869 to 1878. The tunnel revolutionized western mining, and Sutro sold his interest and retired to San Francisco, where he served a term as Mayor.http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/122610753